After the IRS signaled its intent to consider proposed changes to the tax treatment of non-profit 501(c)(4) organizations, 10 Senators today asked IRS Commissioner Shulman to clarify the agency’s intentions for the 52-year-old regulation. In a letter led by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, the lawmakers questioned the IRS’s response to a public rulemaking petition from outside groups pressuring the agency to take action on 501(c)(4)s and said it was essential that politics not play any role in its decision-making process.

“We believe these petitions have less to do with concerns about the sanctity of the tax code and more about setting the tone for the upcoming presidential election, and we urge you to resist allowing the IRS rulemaking process to be subverted to achieve partisan political gains,” wrote the Senators.

On July 17th in a letter to petitioners, the IRS said it “was aware of the public interest” in 501(c)(4)s and that it “will consider proposed changes,” raising questions on whether the agency has already started a an internal process to amend its regulations.

The Senators continued, “Your acknowledgement of the political character of the public interest in 501(c)(4) organizations would caution against sudden changes to well-established law. Yet, your letter seems to suggest that outside political pressure is actually what is triggering your agency’s considering of changes to the law.”